The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1887-09-01
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converting power Of religion should rise
so far from being ashamed, they woult
spring to their feet with more slacrity thar
they ever sprAng to the dance, the tear
mingling with their exhilaration, as the,
cried:
We are Witnesses
And II they tried 10 sing the old Gospe
hymn, they would break down With emo
ton by the time they Sot 10 the SECOND
line:
Ashamed OF Jesus, that dear friend,
On whom my hopes of Heaven dependt
| No! When blush, be this my shame,
That no more revere His name.
! Again. remark that 1--WE are witnesses
Of the Gospels power TO comfort,
When a man has trouble the world comes
| in and says:
"Now &c. your mind of this. Go out
AID breathe the fresh air. Plunge deeper
into business"
What poor advice &c, yrut mind of of
ii, when every thirs II upturned with the
bereavement And every thing reminds
you OF what YOU have lost. & 1T your mind
OF of il. They might as we'll advise you
to stop thinking. Gou "an not stop think
ing, and you car not stop thinking in that
direction. Take walk in the fresh air.
WHY, along that very street, or that very
road, she once accompanied You. Out Of
that grass plot she once plucked flowers,
or into that show window she looked !,
fascinated, saying;
Come, see the pictures"
Go deeper into business Why, she was
associated with all vour business ambition,
and since she has gone You have no ambi-
tion left.
oh, this is a clumsy world when il tries
to comfort broken heart | can bald
Corliss engine, | can paint a Raphsel's
MADONNA" 7 can play Beethoven's
"Symphony' as easily as this world can
ro!;ifort broken heart. And yet YOU
have been comforted. How was it done:
Did Christ come tu you aud say:
Get your mind oil this; go out and
breathe the fresh air; plunge deeper into
business"
No. There vas minute when he came
to yuu-perhaps in the watches of the
night, perhaps in Your place of business,
perhaps along the street-and he breathed
something into your soul that gave peace,
rest, infinite quiet, - that you could take
out the photograph of the departed one and
look into the eyes and the face of tue dear
one, and say:
alt is all right: she is better off; | would
not call'her back. Lord, | thank thee that
thou hast comforted my poor heart"
There are Christian parents here no are
willing to testify to the power of this
Gospel to comfort. Your son had just
graduated from school or college. and was
going into business, and the Lord took
him. Or Your daughter had just gradu.
ated from the young ladies' seminary, and
you thought she was going to be useful
woman and of long life; but the Lord took
her, and You were tempted to say:
"All this culture of twenty years for
nothing"
Or the little child came home from school
with the hot fever that stopped not for the
agonized prayer or for the >killful physi-
elan, and the little child was taken. Or
the babe was lifted ont of Your arms by
some quick epidemic, and you stood Won
dering why GCd ever gave you that child
at all, If so soon He was to take it away.
And vet you are not repning, You are not
fretful, you are not fighting against God.
What has enabled you to stand all the
trial.
"Uh," YOU say, 81 took the medicine that
God gave my sick soul. In my distress ]
threw myself at the feet of a sympathlx-
ing God; and when l was too weak to
pray, or TO look up, he breathed into rue
peace that think must be- the foretaste of
that Heaven where there is neither tear,
nor farewell, nor grave"
Come, all We who have been out to the
grave to weep there--come, all We comfort
ed souls, get up off your knees. Is there
no power in this Gospel to soothe the heart?
Is there no power in this religion to quiet
the worst paroXysm of grief? There Gomez
up an answer from comforted widowhood,
and orphanage, and childleSSnesS, saying:
AYE, aye, we are witnesses"
Again, remark that we are witnesses
of the fact that religion has power to give
COmpoSure in the last moment. | shall
never forget tue first time | confronted
death. We went across the corn fields in
the country. | was led by my fathers
hand, and We came 60 the farm house
where the bereavement had come, and We
saw the crowd Of wagons and carriages;
but there was one carriage that especially
attracted by boyish etten ton, and it had
black plumes. ] said:
"Whst's that: whats that: Why those
black tassels at the top:'
After it was explained to me, | was
lifted up to look upon the bright ce Of an
aged Christian woman, who three days
before had departed in triumph. The
whole scene made an impression never
forgot.
In our sermons and in our lay exhorta.
tiOnS we are very apt, when we want to
bring illustrations of dying triumph, to go
back to some distinguished parsonage
to u John Knox or Il Harriet Newell. But
l want Won for witnesses.
want to know ii Won have ever seen
anything to make Vou believe that the re-
ligion of Christ can give composure in the
final hour. Now, in the courts, attorney,
Jury and judge will never admit mere
hearsay. They demand that the witness
must have seen with his own eyes or heard
with his own ears, and 50 AIN critical in
my examination of Yea now; and | want
to know " neither y0u have seen or heard
ANYTHING that makes Won believe that the
religion of Christ gives cumposure III the
final hour.
sob, yes" you say,"i saw hay father
and mother depart. There was a great
difference in their d, alii beds Standing
by the one We felt mere ventratiOn. BY
the other there was more tenderness"
Before the one You bowed perhaps in awe,
In the other case you felt a. il You would
like to go along with Eer. iiow did they
feel in that last hour; How did they
seem to act% WtIe they very much
frightened: Did ther taEe hold of this
world with both hau Is, rs though they
did not want to give Il up;
"Oh, no." you say: ''nO, remember as
though it were Yesterday; size had a kind
word for Us all, and there were few
mementoes diatrihut - among tie chill
dren, and then she told rs how kind we